07.07.2026 12:51
"Trade Minister Ömer Bolat stated that Turkey is a strong country among NATO allies with its geostrategic position, strengthening economy, and rising defense industry. Bolat announced that as of 2025, Turkey's GDP has reached 1.6 trillion dollars, trade volume with NATO countries has reached 289.6 billion dollars, defense industry exports have exceeded 10 billion dollars, and Turkey ranks 11th in the world in this field."
Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat made an assessment regarding Türkiye-NATO commercial and economic relations.
"TÜRKİYE IS IN A STRONG POSITION AMONG NATO ALLIES"
In his written statement, Bolat said, "Türkiye, with its geostrategic location as well as its strengthening economy, increasing foreign trade, and rising defense industry, holds a strong position among NATO allies. Thanks to the production, investment, employment and export-oriented economic policies implemented under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye has written a remarkable success story in the global economy and trade over the last quarter century. Especially with its high growth performance in the 2002-2025 period, Türkiye has become one of the fastest-growing economies among NATO countries in terms of economic size; it has significantly strengthened its position in global value chains with its production power, export capacity, and effectiveness in international trade. Türkiye's GDP, which was 238.7 billion dollars in 2002, rose to 1 trillion 596.3 billion dollars by 2025; its per capita income increased from 3,616 dollars to 18,040 dollars. In 2025, with an economic size of approximately 1.6 trillion dollars at current prices, Türkiye is the 8th largest economy among NATO countries, which have a combined economic size of 59.2 trillion dollars. According to purchasing power parity, Türkiye ranks 5th among NATO countries with an economic size of 3.8 trillion dollars," he said.
"TÜRKİYE'S MOST IMPORTANT TRADE PARTNERS"
Emphasizing that as of 2025, NATO countries conduct 60.7 percent of their total exports and 56.7 percent of their total imports with NATO member countries, Bolat stated, "In 2025, Türkiye's exports to NATO countries amounted to 150.3 billion dollars, and imports from NATO countries reached 139.3 billion dollars; thus, our foreign trade with NATO countries recorded a surplus of 11 billion dollars. The share of NATO countries in our total exports was 55.9 percent, and their share in our imports was 35.9 percent. Türkiye's most important trade partner among NATO countries is Germany, with whom our foreign trade volume reached 52.3 billion dollars as of 2025. Germany is followed respectively by the USA (34.4 billion dollars), Italy (28.9 billion dollars), France (24.1 billion dollars), and the United Kingdom (24 billion dollars). In the January-June 2026 period, our country's exports amounted to 136.1 billion dollars and imports to 189.2 billion dollars, while total foreign trade volume reached 325.2 billion dollars. NATO countries continue to be important trade partners for Türkiye. In the first 6 months of 2026, exports to NATO countries amounted to 75.9 billion dollars, and imports from these countries reached 68.3 billion dollars. Thus, in the first half of the year, Türkiye's total foreign trade volume with NATO countries reached 144.2 billion dollars, while our trade with NATO countries recorded a surplus of 7.5 billion dollars. On the other hand, as of June, our annualized exports to NATO countries were 152.4 billion dollars, and our imports were 140.1 billion dollars. This table shows that NATO countries are not only a security alliance for Türkiye but also one of its important trade partners," he evaluated.
"TÜRKİYE IS A NET INVESTMENT RECIPIENT COUNTRY"
Pointing out that NATO countries also hold an important position in mutual foreign direct investments as in foreign trade, Minister Bolat said, "As of 2025, while Türkiye's foreign direct investment stock in NATO countries was 42.6 billion dollars, the foreign direct investment stock of NATO countries in Türkiye rose to 150.6 billion dollars. The foreign direct investment stock of NATO countries in Türkiye corresponds to 67.5 percent of the total foreign direct investment stock in Türkiye. Thus, Türkiye is a net investment recipient country in its investment relations with NATO countries. Among NATO countries, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and France are at the top in terms of foreign direct investment stock in Türkiye. With its population strength, Türkiye is also one of the leading countries in NATO. In 2025, while NATO countries, with a population of 988 million, constitute approximately 12 percent of the world population, Türkiye, with a population of 86.1 million, ranks second among NATO countries after the USA. In this context, Türkiye stands out among NATO countries with its young and qualified population," he said.
"TÜRKİYE HAS RISE TO AN IMPORTANT POSITION IN DEFENSE INDUSTRY EXPORTS"
Stating that Türkiye has significantly increased its production capacity in the last quarter century, Bolat spoke as follows:
"Türkiye; by increasing its competitiveness in many fields from automotive to machinery, from chemicals to electronics, from defense and aerospace industry to high-tech production, has reached a stronger position in global markets. Especially the developments in the defense industry and high value-added sectors further strengthen Türkiye's strategic role in NATO's production and supply ecosystem. In 2025, total defense industry expenditures of NATO countries are estimated to have reached 1.64 trillion dollars. As of 2025, Türkiye's defense expenditures increased to 36.4 billion dollars. The ratio of Türkiye's defense expenditures to GDP was 2.3 percent, exceeding NATO's 2 percent target. In addition to its defense industry expenditures, Türkiye has also risen to an important position in world defense industry exports. As of 2025, with defense and aerospace industry exports exceeding 10 billion dollars, Türkiye ranks 11th in the world with a 1.8 percent share in global defense exports."
CONTRIBUTION TO NATO'S ECONOMIC RESILIENCE
Stating that Türkiye, with its strategic location at the intersection of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, advanced logistics infrastructure, strong industrial capacity, and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem, is among the leading countries contributing to NATO's economic resilience and the security of supply chains, Bolat noted:
"As the Ministry of Trade; we will resolutely continue our policies aimed at increasing our exports, supporting high value-added production, improving our competitiveness in global markets, and further strengthening our country's position in international trade. In line with our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Vision for Türkiye's Century, we will continue our work with the same determination towards our sustainable growth and export-oriented development goals. On this occasion, I hope that the NATO Summit to be held in our country on July 7-8, 2026, will be successful both for our country and for world peace and prosperity."